FunkyR - RE070, Project Mu HC+ B-spec brake pads, DBA rotors - Street & Track Review

[Jingers]

Hi guys, another instalment of my street and track reviews?. (My other 2 got trimmed by the forums.... )

PS thanks to Mr_crex from http://www.steve-o.com.au/ for some great pics on the day! (just a quick note I took all the pics (my camera is beginning to stuff up) except the one's labelled steve-o)

Since the last track day, my S02s became as bald as Homer Simpson?s head and my front Endless NA-M bit the dust?. So I got the following mods?..

[Jingers]

Bridgestone Potenza RE070


I must say though the Bridgestone Potenza S02s were the best gripping tyres I?ve ever had?.. well that was of course until I got these:




Number crunching:

Picked these up for about $339 a corner (not cheap by any means but that?s what you pay for performance tyres). I researched up about tyres and I narrowed my choice down to the following:
Yokohama Advan AD07 (which were so fricken hard to get a road legal set in Australia at the time but now it?s quite easy)
Bridgestone Potenza S03s (the current ?flag ship tyre? in Australia)
Bridgestone PotenzaRE070 (Stock on the 05 STi and unfortunately all the Subaru drivers think that Bridgestone made these specifically for the STi?.. **BEEEEHHHH!!!** they were originally designed for the current shape NSX Type R released in 2002/3.)


So what did I go for? Sorry Honda F1 but I ended up buying the competitors brand of tyres

Heard great stories about the S03 but heard they were going to be replaced by the RE050s (see this thread : http://67.15.94.66/showthread.php?t=102746&page=10 ). I read some reviews about the RE070 ? some rated them even better than the new Falken Azeni RT615s ? I found out they have probably the stiffest side wall of all road tyres on the market (heh heh the guys at my local Bob Jane T mart took 3 guys all with crowbars to get the damn tyre onto the rim!). A review from the STi guys said that the RE070s were not as squirmy as the Falken Azeni RT615s on track - after a few laps on the track and the dry grip is very very very very VERY (did I mention very?) good?.. (don?t ask me about wet though - apparantly they are horrible in the wet?.. and this is coming from WRX STi drivers with AWD ? oh what joy I have to look forward to this winter?. But I guess being ?wet? isn?t always such a bad thing



(ok I wont even go there)

(and get those diry thoughts out of your mind you bad bad person!)


I also noticed that the tread width (ie ?phatness? or tread surface that contacts with the road) seemed a little wider than the S02s (which are already wider than most other equivalent tyres in the same size) ? sweet! Which means for the same size 225/45/17 you?re getting about another 2.5cms of tread width over say the equivalent Eagle F1 DS-G3 (or you?d prob have to go 250 on the eagle to get the same tread width ? there?s some food for thought)

Tread width for 225/45/17:

RE070 8.7?
AD07 ? 8.5?
S03 8.4?
RE050A 8.3?
Eagle F1 DS-G3 7.6?




A link for RE070 from tirerack.com

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....otenza+R E070
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic...wall=Blackwall

[Jingers]

STREET

First thing I noticed is how pron these things look! It was almost as nice as the time I went to that school girl theme night at that strip clu?? (only kidding!) The outer tread looks basically like a semi slick?. The mid and inner portions have a few grooves and there are vertical continous bands in the centre.?.. The ride became noticeably harsher than my already firm S02s (thanks to the stiff side walls) ..... the tyre noise was also quite noticeable too - I haven?t heard what semi slicks sounds like from the cabin but these have a very low pitched hum at 60kmh ? not unbearable but noticeable even in a Type R so I?m guessing it?s quite noticeable on any other car.?..




Handling wise, I gotta say, these are noticeably *better* than my S02s were when they were new?. I can now take corners harder at speeds where my S02s would just begin to understeer and squeal?. The car feels much better planted and more predicatable on hard street cornering. The amounts of grip these tyres offer is quite amazing!

Tread wear will probably suck as bad as the S02s (both are rated at 140 treadwear)?.. They do tend to tramline a little bit more than the S02s (guys in the US have reported the same thing too). But like all things in life, some are more high maintenance (right girls? )

Wet handling? Uh?.. these things are not all that confidence inspiring in the wet! My S02s were ok but these were maybe a little worse in the wet?. They gave me a smidgen of 4 wheel drift on a moderately aggressive corner?.. It?s hard to compare wet stopping since it?s been quite a while since I had my fresh S02s but the wet stopping is reasonable I guess?. Nothing that fantastic?? I guess that?s the compromise for such a high gripping dry tyre but my theory is that you have to be an idiot to go all out on a wet street road?..



TRACK

Wow! I was quite impressed with the amount of dry grip on the street but these things were fantastic on the track!

These gripped much more than my S02s! From what I can remember the amount of speed I was able to carry mid corner was a little more?. The tyres gripped very very well for street tyres! I progressively attacked each corner harder and harder and when the understeer came on, it was quite progressive and where the S02s would start to give up, the RE070s still were fighting to keep the grip going?..

With my new brake set up (see later) I was able to cane more laps than before (I?d be getting brake fade at lap 3 and ?end up in the kitty litter? fade at 5-6 laps)?.. I found that the tyres did become a little squirmish after about 4-5 laps or so. They tended to lose a little bit of grip but for how hard I was caning them, they were still ok?.. My S02s off memory got a little squirmish around the same time 4-5 laps?.. (note this is for Mallala ? at Sandown the S02s lasted longer).

The wear on the sides of the tyres was noticeable too ? lots of freshly caned rubber was sitting on the edges although there were no ?clumps? of rubber like my S02s made?. There was just a few small ?dandruff? like flakes on the surface?. Better compound maybe? (excuse the reference to body parts ? heck I?m medical! )

[Jingers]

DBA 4000 Series 6x6 Wiper-slot Rotors (Front)


(Why couldn?t they just call these ?DBA 6 slotted rotors???) Anyway, didn?t want to spend a lot on Endless rotors (as pron as they are ? see Szymonsta?s ? they?re sooooo nice!) and Project Mu didn?t make them for DC5R (well not for the AUDM DC5R equivalent anyway) so went the locally made option?..




They come with a patent pending ?kangaroo paw? design ? supposedly better cooling efficiency ? see video link below ? very cool?.. whether or not it really works is another question?.

http://www.dba.com.au/video/DBA_KangarooPaw.mpg



They also come with thermo-graphic temperature monitoring ? fancy name for 3 little strips of paint that change colour on different temps?. The usefulness of this to a guy that tracks occasionally for fun? er?.. that?s kinda like how useful is Paris Hilton in ?Sale of the century?? It basically tells u how hot ur discs are running ? ok I guess it is kinda useful info to determine what temp rated pads u need?.



Here?s the thermographic markings and explanation



Green turns to White at 458 degrees rotor temp
Orange turns to Yellow at 550 degrees
Red turns to White at 630 degrees



Well ah?. This was taken after the track day - I guess a picture speaks a thousands words?.



I must I felt a little jipped (I guess I can empathise with Paris when her video got released to the net.... ok maybe she felt a little more jipped than I did ) because I thought the thermographic markings were reversible ? as in once they cool down they revert to their original state?. Lol I guess DBA owned me for that brief moment in time?.. but but I?m kinda glad I got brake pads rated at 0-800!




Just out of interest, they weighed 6.5kg each. The guys that installed it for me said that DBA is probably the best local/easily obtainable brand for what I need them for?.


In terms of performance I guess they?re more of an adjunct to the pads?. I chose a slotted design (not only looked cool but the slots help to vent brake gasses) over a cross drilled (more prone to cracking on track).

DBA recommended that a warm up and cool down lap is recommended to get the rotors up to heat slowly to avoid any cracking?. Well, didn?t really make a difference to me since I always do a warm up and cool down lap anyway?.

[Jingers]

Project Mu HC+ front and Project Mu B-Spec rear brake pads

I have nothing against Endless ? my previous NA-Ms were great?. They were rated 50-450 so I was initially worried about initial bite and yes it was a little worse than stock pads, it didn?t take long to warm up to 50-100 on the street.




Here?s what trashed brake pads look like (I was treading on 'thin ice' )

http://67.15.94.66/attachment.php?at...9&d=1143963432
http://67.15.94.66/attachment.php?at...0&d=1143963461

I ordered these:

http://67.15.94.66/attachment.php?at...1&d=1143963498

Number crunching:

Since I was getting brake fade after 3 laps of Mallala with the Endless NA-Ms I wanted something that would allow me to get more ?on track? time?. So I was tossing up between (for my fronts anyway) Endless NA-R, Endless Euro X or Project Mu HC+.


Steve from Centrax auto was again extremely helpful?.. Heads up to Steve! He gave me a lot of insightful information to brakes as centrax auto?s demo car is one heck of a DC5R?. Anyway as I?ve described before the AUDM DC5R gets the same rear brakes as the JDM but we get S2k fronts instead of brembos ? which means that when it comes to aftermarket pads, you can afford to go more aggressive infront in relation to the rears?. so it was recommended you go about 2 grades down in the rear pads from the fronts?..

Project Mu HC+ 0-800degrees , 0.32-0.60 brake co-eff
Project Mu NR 0-650, 0.33-0.43
Project Mu B-Spec 0-500, 0.32-0.45
Project Mu NS 0-400, 0.37-0.40

Endless NA-R 0-600, 0.35-0.4
Endless NA-M 100-480, 0.3-0.4
Endless SSS 0-500, 0.35-0.43



I ended choosing the Project Mu HC+ fronts and Project Mu B-spec rears.
http://www.project-mu.co.jp/e/product/hc-plus.html

Just a quick note on compounds, 3 main compounds now-a-days are: non asbestos, semi-metallic, carbon composite and full metallic. The HC+ are a semi-metallic carbon compound.

I was worried about the optimum operating temps for the HC+ as they were rated 0-800! Heard from other members that the ?sweet? spot of the pads might not be very useable on street if the temps weren?t high enough?. So here?s the temp rating charts with brake-coefficients?. NB on the first pic 2 boxes = 100 degrees

http://67.15.94.66/attachment.php?at...2&d=1143963511
http://67.15.94.66/attachment.php?at...3&d=1143963523

[Jingers]

STREET:


Well as expected my brakes squeal like a whore (not that?d I?d no or anything!). My NA-Ms did initially in their early life and I was expecting the same. Once I bedded them in (and tried not to inhale brake pad/rotor fumes) I tested them out a few days later?. The initial bite was noticeably harder (well the brake co-efficient is higher as you can see above) and in the last second before the car stops, the brakes bite hard so that the cars jolts to an abrupt stop and the brake pads made a ?clonk? noise?. not anything bad, just an observation.

Dust? Well?.. let?s just say I?m going to have to clean my rims more often now?..

Street driving, there?s a little more bite to the brakes than the NA-Ms but I guess the real difference would be told at the?..


TRACK:


Good?. Very good! They solved my first issue of wanting more ?on track time?. I was able to do 4-5 laps before I got a little pedal sponginess and even then on laps 6 and 7 they were still biting?. I actually had to slow down to give my engine a rest rather than let the brakes recover!

In terms of braking, they took a little getting used to?. The pedal feel was quite different to the Endless - they were very progressive and linear in the pedal touch ? ie the more you pressed, the harder they braked in a linear fashion?.. The NA-Ms were similar but the amount of braking force in these was noticeably more?. The HC+ were also more sensitive to the initial bite than the NA-Ms?.

I was very happy in that my braking became much more aggressive than before! So much to the point that I was braking so hard that the tail was doing a good old wiggle quite a few times?.. yes it was unsettling to the car and ruined a few corners but that told me that I was really braking much more aggressively than before?.

[Jingers]

In conclusion?

The track day was fun (as they always are)…. A lot more of Szymonsta, Mr_crex and I’s friends came

.I had an ok instructor again…. Some local guy – I didn’t ask what he races but I’m sure he’s not in any of the bigger comps (eg V8s, carrera cup etc). After he took me out he said:

‘wow you’re quite good! There’s nothing much I really need to add, your lines are good, your braking is good and transitions are quite smooth. I don’t think I really need to hop in the driver’s seat to show you anything’ and ‘you’ve got some aggressiveness in your driving which is good’

he also said ‘It’s scary sometimes in the other cars when the guys cant drive, but with you it’s so smooth and I’m not scared at all’

Which yeah as nice as it sounds as a compliment but I took it as ‘you gotta be kidding!’ I mean I’m an amateur guy who likes track for fun and this guy presumably is trying to become a race driver and he’s telling me that I’m quite good?


.
I managed to grab Luke Youlden again (last year’s Rookie of the year in the Carrera cup series and he finished 4th with VIP pet foods). Now interestingly the first thing he said was ‘well you certainly don’t lack any aggressiveness!’

He pretty much didnt say much else than ‘You’re driving’s not bad. You can work more on trying to carry more speed through corners’. He suggested I try braking later and then entering corners with more speed.... nothing much else to add!

Well, I did feel better about myself then (insert big head here)…. (ok ok I cant resist – I was gloating underneath my helmet! ). It was nice to hear that there wasn’t anything overly bad with my driving, just polishing up a few things….



Aaaaaanyway like the last review, the numbers speak for themselves….

Previously I did a 1’27.8

With the RE070s, Project Mu HC+/B-spec and DBA rotors (coming from S02s and Endless NA-M front pads) I managed to pull a 1’25.06!

I’m really really happy with the time! Considering that I’m still running on street tyres I came third of those guys in the picture above..... well I did get caned by my mate's R32 GTR with over $50k of mods (eg ap 6 pots brakes, roll cage, semi slicks which was slightly ‘detuned’ from 260rwkW cos he was driving to QLD the next day) who did a 1’21 and Szymonsta who put in a great time of 1’23.74 in his DC2 (semi slicks/coilovers) I was pretty happy….. Sooooo tempting to get coilovers and semi slicks now – but we’ll have to see….